Freestone · Granite · Cévennes / Ardèche, FR

Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters)

Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters) — Balazuc - Ardèche - France - 20130614
Marginal · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
New ruleReported 18 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (alerte renforcée) in force

A préfectoral drought order places this catchment's surface water at alerte renforcée, the second-highest of France's four restriction tiers. Fishing itself is not named in the order, but flows are low and water-use restrictions are in force. Zone: Ardèche (dépt 07).

Arrêté préfectoral n°37701

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Loire (Upper)
  • Water temp18.7°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Loire (Upper)
Water temp18.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindNW 16 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent2.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Loire (Upper). The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
19°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 18.7°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Ardèche
  • Plusieurs réserves de truite sauvage sur les parcours amont — no-kill, mouche uniquement.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 2
Water here around 19°C — probably warm enough to stress Brown Trout . These are likely cooler.
Gallery · 2
  1. Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters) — Balazuc - Ardèche - France - 20130614
    Balazuc - Ardèche - France - 20130614
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyGood
  • ChemicalGood

WFD classification · FRDR421

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 36 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature29 × 28%8.1
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time50 × 13%6.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 62
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Loire (Upper)proxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Booking & contacts